Means for attaching sheets of celluloid and the like to mandrels



y .1. N. WHITEHOUSE 6 MEANS FOR ATTACHING SHEETS OF CELLULOID AND THE LIKE TO MANDRELS Filed Feb. 26, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet l May 31, 1932. J. N. WHITEHOUSE 1,360,438

MEANS FOR ATTACHING SHEETS OF CELLULOID AND THE LIKE To MANDRELS Filed Feb. 26. 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented May 31,1932

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE JOHN N. WHITEHOUSE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR T SANITE CORPORATION, OF BURLINGTON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION NEW JERSEY MEANS roe ATTACHING SHEETS or oELLULoin AND THE LIKE To MANDR-ELS Application filed February 26, 1929. Serial No. 342,719.

My invention relates to tube forming methods and means of the general class claimed in Letters Patent of the United States No. 1,661,- 51 granted to ineMarch 6, 1928; whereby sheets of cellulose products such as celluloid, cellulose nitrate, cellulose acetate or any suitable substance may be rolled upon respective mandrels While in a softened state, so that successive convolutions thereof are rendered b coherent and merge in a solid tube.

As hereinafter described,successive sheets of such products are pressed into semicylindrical form at their forward ends, in a heated die; to receive respective mandrels which are thrust therein from a magazine, over a grooved roller which dips into a solvent of the material, so that the mandrel is coated with the solvent before it is placed in the recessed end of the sheet. Themandrel is then pressed upon the recessed end of the sheet so as to become adherent thereto. by reason of the solvent coating, and the sheet with the mandrel attached thereto is discharged from said heated die.

My invention includes the various novel features of such method and means hereinafter more definitely specified.

In said drawings Fig. I is a plan view of a machine including means for effecting my improved method.

Fig. II is a front elevation of said machine shown in Fig. I.

Fig. III is an elevation of the right hand Enid of said machine, as shown in Figs. I and Fig. IV is a fragmentary sectional view, taken on the line IV in Figs. I and II, showing the pair of dies and their appurtenances, in position to form the semicylindrical reccss in the forward end of the sheet.

Fig. V is a view similar to Fig. IV but showing the "dies in position to press the mandrel in engagement with the recessed sheet.

with a mandrel thus attached thereto.

In said figures; the base 1 hasthe pedestal 2 supporting the normally stationary but removable female die 3 which is secured (by any suitable means) at the top thereof. Said Fig. VI is a plan view of one of said sheets pedestal 2 includes the chamber 5'having the port 6 for a heating fluid, such as steam or water, supplied thru the 'pipe 7 Said die 3 has the chamber 9 formed therein in registry with the chamber 5 in said pedestal so that said die is heated bysuch fluid. Said die 3 has the semicylindrical recess '10 in the top thereof to receive the forward end 11 of the sheet 12, of celluloid and the like, which is fed to the machine, by hand or otherwise, over the table 13 which is conveniently supported in rigid relation with said die. Said die is conveniently provided with a pair of V upwardly extending studs 14 which Serve as gauge stops for the forward ends 11 of the successive sheets 12 to properly position the latter preparatory to the operation of pressing the sheet.

The upper die 15 has the semicylindrical projection 16 complementary to the recess 10 in the die 3, and is operatively connected, by the hangers 17, with the slide 18 which is mounted to reciprocate in the bracket 19 supported by the standards 20 on said base 1. Said slide 18 is adapted to be vertically reciprocated in said bracket 19, by its roller 21 mounted on the shaft 22 extending between the lugs 23 at the top thereof and engaged in the notch 25 in the forward end of the lever 26. Said lever is fulcrumed at 27 in the bracket 28 on said standards20; and said slide 18 and lever 26 are normally uplifted to the position shown in Fig. III, by the stress of the spring 30.

The opposite endof said lever 26 has the shaft 32 carrying the roller 33 in cooperative relation with the cam 3 1 which is rigidly connected with the shaft 35 journaled in the bearings 36 and 37 on said base 1. Said cam 34 has crests 38 and 39, of different radial extents, which are successively,operative to press the die 15 down to the respectively clifferent extents indicated in Figs. IV and V.

Said shaft 35 is adaptedto be turned by the worm gear 10, which is fixed thereon and engaged with the worm 41 on the'countershaft 42; the latter being j'ournaled in the bearings 43 and 44 on said base 1 and provided with the tight and loose pulleys 45 and 46.

. Said pedestal 2 supports the magazine 47 for the mandrels 48, comprising the opposite vertical channels 49 and 50 having respective grooves 51 and 52 in which'the opposite ends of said mandrels 48 are'adapted to slide. The ends 53 of said mandrels 48, shown at the left in Figs. I and II, are flattened by cutting away parts of their cylindrical surfaces, so they may be engaged by a winding mechanism; and the groove 51 in the channel 49 is so shaped as to receive such flattened ends 53" of the mandrels, vertically, and thus insure the delivery of the successive mandrels in the same position with respect to these ends thereof. I provide means for discharging said mandrels 48, one at a time, in proper sequence with the other operations of the mech anism shown in the drawings, including the horizontally reciprocatory plunger 54 which, as indicated in. Fig. I, has the notch 55 in the right hand end thereof, adapted to engage the flattened. end 53 of the lowermost mandrel 48 in said magazine. Said plunger is fitted to slide thru the bearing 56 on said pedestal 2 and is supported at its left hand end by the slide block 57 which is mounted to slide in the bed 58 which is rigidly secured on said pedestal 2. Said block 57 has the stud shaft 59 carrying the roller 60 for engagement in the slot61 in the lever 62 which is fulcrmned at 63 upon the standard 64. Said lever 62 is pivotally connected at 66 with the link 67 which is pivoted at 68 upon the lever 69 which is fulcrumed at 70 on said standard 64 and has, at its opposite end, the stud shaft 71 carrying the roller 72 in cooperative relation with the cam face 74 on the rotary cam 75 which is rigidly connected with said shaft 35.

Said cam 75 is so coordinately positioned on said shaft 35, in relation to the cam 34, that the mandrels 48 are delivered in succession in proper time to be received between said dies 3 and 15, as indicated in Figs. II and V, so that when said die 15 is pressed downwardly by the portion 39 of said cam 34; the flanges 77 on said die 15 bear upon the mandrel 48 and firmly press the latter into the forward recessed end 11 of the sheet of celluloid and the like 12.

In order to insure that the mandrel 48 thus pressed upon the recessed sheet 12 shall firmly adhere to the latter; I provide the grooved roller 79, in the path of the mandrel, in its movement from the magazine to position upon said shee and means for maintaining said roller continually wet with a suitable liquid solvent 80 of the sheet material; so that each mandrel 48 is coated with such solvent immediately before it is applied to the sheet, as above described.

Any suitable solvent may be employed; for instance, acetone is a suitable solvent for celluloid and. cellulose nitrate, and ethyl acetate, or a mixture ofalcohol and ether, are suitable solvents for cellulose acetate.

The solvent 80 is conveniently supplied in the tank 81 supported by said pedestal 2 so that the roller 79 dips therein, as indicated in Fig. II. Altho said roller 79 may be idly rotated by the friction of the mandrels 48 pushed thereover by the plunger 54'; I prefer to positively turn said roller 79 by rigidly connecting it with the shaft 83 which is ournaled in the bearing 84 and provided with the gear wheel 85 in mesh with the gear 86 on the countershaft 87 which is journaled in the bearing 88 on said pedestal 2 and in the bearing 90 in the bracket 91 on said base 1. Said shaft 87 has the bevel gear 93 rigidly connected therewith and in mesh with the bevel gear 94 on said shaft 35, so that said roller 79 is continually turned in the directionindicated by the arrow in Fig. II, during the operation of the machine by rotation of'the shaft 42.

The circumferential extent of the cam crest 39 is sufiicient to press the selected mandrel 48 in contact with the recessed end 11 of the sheet 12, as indicated in Fig. V, until it is firmly attached to said sheet. As said crest 39 passes beneath the roller 33 to the position shown in Fig. III, the spring 30 is permitted to uplift the lever 26 and the slide 18 to the position shown in that figure. In order to lift the mandrel 48 and sheet 12 attached thereto, from the recess 10 in the die 3, and discharge it over the stop studs 14; I provide the U-shaped discharging frame which comprises the rock shaft 96 having hook levers 97 at respectively opposite ends thereof extending beneath said die members 77 and normally resting upon studs 98 projecting from opposite ends of said die 3. In order to automatically operate said discharging frame; I provide the lift frame comprising opposite pendent hook members 99 which are rigidly connected with the rock shaft 100 journaled in a pair of brackets 101 on said die 15. As said die 15 is lowered from the position shown in Fig. III to the position shown in Fig. V, the lower ends of said hook members 99 ride over the left hand ends of the members 97, swinging to the left in Fig. V and back again to the right, to the position shown in Fig. V, in which they engage beneath the members 97; so that, upon the upward movement of said die 15 from the position shown in Fig. V to the position shown in Fig. III, said discharging frame members 97 are lifted with their hooked ends frictionally engaging the sheet 12 beneath the mandrel 48 and by their arcuate movement lift the mandrel and sheet over the stops 14. Thereupon, the weight of the mandrel 48 causes it and the sheet 12 attached thereto to gravitate downwardly to the right in Figs. III and V and down the discharge frame members 97 and down the inclined discharge plate 103; so that the successive mandrels with sheets attached thereto are discharged from the machine thru the recess 104 indicated in Fig. I. Said shaft 35 may also carry a cam 105 for controlling the supply of heating fluid to said chamber 9, by any suitable 7 means such as a vacuum valve.

Altho I find it convenient to employ all of the means above described for effecting my method, it is obvious that various modifications may be made therein, without departing from the essential features of my invention, as-defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In means for attaching sheets of celluloid and the like to mandrels; a rotary body arranged to turn in contact with a mandrel, means for bringing a mandrel in contact with said rotary body, and means for applying a solvent to said rotary body; whereby the mandrel is coated with the solvent by the turning movement of said body; means for carrying said mandrel from said rotary body to a position of pressing contact with a sheet of celluloid; and means adapted to present such a sheet in cooperative relation with said mandrel.

2. Means for attaching sheets of celluloid and the like to mandrels, as in claim 1, wherein the rotary body is a roller having a toric groove in its face fitted to the mandrel; and including means for automatically progressing the mandrel axially, transversely to the axis of said rotary body, during the coating operation.

3. In means for attaching sheets of celluloid and the like to mandrels; means for ap plying a solvent of such products to the mandrels, including a container for such solvent, a rotary body dipping into such container, and means adapted to automatically progress mandrel in contact with said rotary body and thereby coat it with a solvent, and means adapted to present such a sheet in cooperative relation with said mandrel.

4. In means for attaching sheets of celluloid and the like to mandrels; means for applying a solvent of such products to the mandrels, including a container for such solvent, a rotary body dipping into such container, and means adapted to automatically progress a mandrel in contact with said rotary body and thereby coat it with a solvent, including a reciprocatory plunger adapted to thrust the mandrel axially transversely to the axis of the rotary bcdy;andmeans adapted to present such a sheet in cooperative relation with said mandrel.

5. In means for attaching sheets of celluloid and the like to mandrels; means for applying a solvent of such products to the manfi drels, including a container for such solvent,

a rotary body dipping into such container, and means adapted to automatically progress a .mandrel in contactwith said rotary body and thereby coat it with a solvent, including a reciprocatory plunger adapted to thrust the mandrel axially transversely to the axis of the rotary body; and means cooperatively connectingsaid plunger and rotary body; whereby they are relatively moved in coordinatedrelation means for carrying the mandrel from said rotary body to the pressing position with a celluloid sheet; and means adapted to present such a sheet'in cooperative relation with said mandrel.

6. Means adapted solely for preshaping and attaching primarily plane sheets of celluloid and the like tofit cylindrical man drels, including a pair of relatively movable cylindriform dies, one having a. semicylindrical recess and the other a semicylindrical projection; and means adapted to automatica-lly operate said dies, including a cam, adapted to press said dies upon such a sheet and form a permanent semicylindrical recess at one end thereof for reception of a mandrel; wherein the cam has two crests, of respectively different radial extent, respectively adapted to operate said dies to alternately press a recess in a sheet and press a mandrel in the recessed sheet.

7 Means for attaching sheets of celluloid and the like to mandrels, including a pair of relatively movable dies; means adapted to automatically move a mandrel into position to be operated on by said dies; and actuating means cooperatively connecting said mandrel moving means with said die; wherer by a mandrel is moved to position between said dies and then pressed by said dies upon a sheet.

8. Means for attaching sheets of celluloid and the like to mandrels, including a magazine for a series of mandrels; and automatically operative means adapted to discharge mandrels singly from said magazine, in succession, at regular intervals including a reciprocatory plunger means for carrying a mandrel to pressing position with respect to such a sheet; and means adapted to present such a sheet in cooperative relation with said l3 mandrel.

9. Means as in claim 8; wherein the magazine includes a grooved member adapted to receive a series of mandrels with flattened ends, and the plunger has an end recess 5' lation; and a rotary body connected with said actuating mechanism and adapted to apply a solvent of the sheet material to each mandrel in succession, as the mandrels are moved by said plunger means for carrying a mandrel to pressing position With respect to such a sheet; and means adapted to present such a sheet in cooperative relation with said mandrel.

In testimony whereof, Ihave hereunto signed my name at Burlington, New Jersey,

this 31st day of January, 1929.

' JOHN N. WHITEHOUSE. 

